1. Field
The present disclosure relates to microorganisms having a novel acrylic acid synthesis pathway and a method of producing an acrylic acid by using the microorganisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, due to the rapid increase in the price of petroleum and as pressure to decrease carbon emissions has become a global issue, efforts to produce fuel or chemicals through a carbon-neutral biological process instead of a conventional chemical process using petroleum as a raw material have continued.
An acrylic acid is a bulk chemical that has a market value of about 10 trillion Korean Won (KRW). The recent demand for an environment-friendly production method has increased the need for a method of producing an acrylic acid through a pathway other than a petroleum-based pathway.
An example of a non-petroleum-based acrylic acid production pathway may be a method including producing 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from glycerol or glucose; and chemically isolating and purifying the 3-HP. However, this method includes isolating the produced 3-HP from a culture, purifying the 3-HP, and chemically converting the 3-HP by using a catalyst. Therefore, the cost of the isolation, purification, and conversion is added to the 3-HP production cost, and thus the method may not be competitive with respect to a method of producing an acrylic acid derived from a petroleum-based compound.
Even in the conventional method, alternative microorganisms capable of producing acrylic acid and a method of producing an acrylic acid by using the microorganisms are needed.